Having a hard time figuring out which stream/career to choose?
Don’t worry, as you are not the only one undergoing such a situation. If I give you my example, I was clueless after class 12th on what course to opt for; people around me were filling up as many forms as they could get their hands on, and out of nervousness, I did the same.
We spend a lot of time worrying what we want from our life, and such situations paralyse us. We are surrounded by negativity, and we fear to explore new avenues. There are more than 150 careers to be explored, but only a few people make an effort to find out about them. We constantly doubt ourselves. We are not only slothful, but like being spoon-fed. But for how long?
Here are a few approaches you need to inculcate in your life to unravel the puzzle of career confusion.
Don’t confuse your interest with passion
People often confuse between their passion and interest. Although one complements the other, there is a difference between the two. There can be millions of things that interest you, but once you start doing them on a regular basis, they may bore you later. Passion, on the other hand cultivates from interest, and drives you to create a niche for yourself. When you are passionate about something, you don’t procrastinate to work towards it, nor do you leave it halfway. Thus it is very important to not only have an interest in a particular field, but also to feel passionate towards it, in order to succeed in it.
For example; Child A, wants to become a Guitarist and enrolls herself into Guitar classes. But after playing the instrument for a few days, she feels that she wants to learn some other instrument. This is how interest differs from passion. Being interested in something at “A” point of time can bore you once you learn more about it. On the other hand, being passionate about something keeps you going and working towards it, become an expert, and not leave it midway.
Think what makes you happy
Our interests are often influenced by our parents, or by what our peers are doing. Just because your friends are open to a stream or applying for some job, doesn’t mean you need to do the same thing. You are different and unique, you should figure out where your heart lies, instead of being a part of the rat race. Now the question is how do you do that?
You are going to spend most of your life being at your job. If it doesn’t make you happy, you will someday end up feeling incompetent, frustrated and unproductive. On the other hand, loving your work will actually make you better at it, and leave you with a feeling of satisfaction. Hence, it is important to pick a career that YOU are made for, and would like to pursue, not anyone else.
Read More: How to Avoid Peer Influence While Choosing Career
Explore career opportunities
Once you know where your heart lies, it’s time you start short-listing various fields and dream colleges. Go ahead and explore what courses you would like to study, their curriculum and opportunities after them. Try to find organisations that might hire you as an intern or a volunteer for their work. It would give you real-time knowledge about a field, as well as valuable experiences.
Exploring doesn’t mean you start having unrealistic expectations and reject anything that comes your way. It means that you need to find that right chord, which balances your “gut feeling” and your head because the choices you make today will decide whether you will make it or break it.
Explore 150+ Career Options through Mindler’s Career Library
Go the scientific way!
Human bias can leave a long-lasting effect on your career choice. Your parents may have thought of a career that they feel is right for you, but if you don’t have the right set of skills and the right kind of temperament for such a career, then it is not the right career for you. Nowadays, one can also evaluate his/her career matches through scientific methods (since these methods are based on extensive research and psychometrics). As no two individuals are the same, and no single factor is solely responsible for one’s career selection, one needs to take several factors into consideration. Factors such as one’s Aptitude, Personality, Emotional Quotient, and Interest are some of the factors that can prove useful while making a career decision.
I hope now you have better clarity on how to choose the right career for yourself!
